Click of Death Hard Drive Failure

[hellasangel]

Hi gurus!

I have a laptop HD and I am experiencing the click of death problem. HD also won't be recognized by the bios. I read in this forum many posts about it and I have the following questions:

1. 3ft dropping tip: Do you think this really works or will I break the controller as well by throwing my HD to the floor??

2. Controller exchange tip: Does this work if things have gone so far (click of death) or doeas this work only when the HD is not recognized by the bios?

3. Software (eg Byteback) data recovery: Is this worth even trying or does it just target common software HD problems?

It seems that the only one easy to try is the freezer tip. However I don't have many of those dehumidyfying bags. Do you thing I can get it with one or two or do I need to get out in the shops looking for more?

Also, do things get worse if I operate the HD trying to fix it or the clicking does not affect the HD any longer (damage remains the same)?

Thanks! I went to a pro this morning asking for a minimum of 500 Euros! That's insane! It's like a doctor will treat you if he finds you have an unrecoverable disease... Shame...

Thanks!


Angelo

[DonJ]

Hi hellasangel, welcome to WinDrivers!

The 3 foot drop test is strictly a last resort. Of course, you can cause all kinds of problems by dinging, denting, jarring, etc. The heads are extrememly close to the surface of the disks and any type of hard handling can cause those two to touch each other. And you can also damage any electronics parts, connectors, etc. by dropping.

I have seen controllers be the cause of many problems. If you have an exact replacement, that would be the route to go.

I can't speak towards the data recovery as I don't usually get involved with that. But it would seem to me that if the drive won't even spin up, any software would be useless. But others here might tell you differently.

The freezer thing would be along the same lines as the 3 foot drop test. Only as a last resort. If you should get it going, it won't last very long. BTW, I have never seen anybody had any luck doing this. But again, others might tell you differently.

Which make and model number are we talking about? SeaGate perhaps? (http://www.seagate.com/support/index.html)

Good Luck!

[hellasangel]

Hi there!

Thanks for the reply. It's a Hitachi Travelstar 80GN (IC25N030ATMR040). It seems to have connection with the IBM hard drives.

Another question as well. When I shake gently the hard drive something is moving from the inside (I hear click clack when I shake it). I don't hear this noise in other 2,5'' hard drives. Does this mean that the heads inside are corrupt too? Do you think, given this information, that it makes sense trying the controller change?

Thanks!


Angelo

[confus-ed]

Don seems to be telling you right as always, I too am of the same opinion, though your last post would lead me to say its well & truely FUBARed ! 'Rattlings' got to be something broken, my guess is if you need the data desperately you'll need professional services & have to pay those 'big bucks', no s/w whatsoever is gonna help IMHO if I'm reading your symptoms right.

Btw hitachi/ibm 'business' is just IBM actually owning up to who made 'em all along.. previously this range of drives was nicknamed 'IBM deathstar' :eek2: